Don't toss that

When you know slang words in other dialects of English, some things are unintentionally funny.
[Source]

A bank killer of a move

In November 2021, I refinanced the mortgage on our Hawaii house. We locked in a 1.99% interest rate on the remaining principal (~$590k) for 30 years.

Fast forward to today, and Republic First bank has gone gone into receivership. Why? Because in 2021, "Previous leadership invest[ed] heavily in long-duration securities with low fixed interest rates." As interest rates have risen since then, those securities have declined in value.
Then, in 2022, Republic First "grew [its] jumbo mortgage portfolio at below-market interest rates." Although our refinance was through a different lender, that very well describes what we did to the bank we refinanced with. We locked got a fixed, jumbo mortgage at what is now a below market rate. Not just below market, but below the current inflation rate.

Whether or not that situation is widespread, or if it represents a serious threat to the banking industry, only time will tell. Regardless, it represents one of the few time, to paraphrase Danny Ocean, when I've had the perfect hand, and I've bet big, and taken the house.

Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof

Wiesbaden's "hauptbahnhof," or main station, is quite beautiful.

How do I get out? Make an Exodus

I think of the word "Exodus" as pretty special -- something you only see in the Bible. But to Greeks, it's completely ordinary -- you can see it on the highway, above fire escapes, whatever. It means nothing more than "exit."

That's very different perspective.

Chicken spaetzle soup

One of the things I like to make these days is chicken spaetzle soup. I start by dividing up a rotisserie chicken. I broil the skin (it makes a nice snack), separate the meat, and then use the bones to make stock.
For the soup, I use onions, celery, and carrots. When those are cooked a bit, I add the stock, then the spaetzle.
Between making the stock and then the soup, it takes a while, but the end product is both delicious and very inexpensive.

Macedonia trip, Day 5 (a)

Today we went for a walk around town. From the hotel, the first stop was the Kapani Market.

Macedonia trip, Day 4

Today we checked out of the hotel, left the Republic of North Macedonia, and went to the north Greek province of Macedonia. It's one thing to have a bottle of wine with a logo; it's another to have a picture of the thing in the logo *with* the bottle. Thessaloniki is Greece's second largest city. We arrived shortly before dinner, went for a walk around town, and found a great place to eat. In German, a pharmacy is an "apotheke." In Greek it's a "pharmakeio." It may be "all Greek to me", but it's not asll as foreign as you'd think.